


You Deserve Beautiful Things

by QueenThayet



Series: The Inception Fix-it AU [1]
Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Ariadne is super gay, Clubbing, Cobb the Knob, Community: inceptiversary, Dom Cobb Being an Asshole, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Femslash, Fix-it fic, I love that "Dom Cobb being an Asshole" is a suggested tag, Inception Bingo, Poorly remembered French, Pretend couple, pre-Arthur/Eames, rare pairs, sort of fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-26 23:20:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7594369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenThayet/pseuds/QueenThayet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Ariadne met Mal when she started grad school in Paris, and pretended to be Mal's girlfriend to help her avoid being hit on by Dom Cobb? And then she didn't marry Cobb and get incepted into killing herself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Deserve Beautiful Things

**Author's Note:**

> This got away from me a bit, but I'm really digging Ari/Mal right now. I think this wanted to be longer, but I wasn't feeling up to expanding it right now. I did want to give them some fluff, though! I'm working on another Bingo fic that will be A/E and tie into this one, so stay tuned. Thanks to isidore13, amysnotdeadyet, and daisylore (and anyone else on the slack chat I missed) for their encouragement!

The first time Ariadne saw her, she was in Professor Miles’ office. Ariadne was waiting outside for their 3:00pm meeting. She was laughing, a lovely sparkling laugh, and then she leaned over and kissed Professor Miles on the cheek. Ariadne’s shoulders slumped. She didn’t think that Professor Miles was the type of man to mess around with his graduate students, even if it was France.

“Ah, Ariadne,” Professor Miles had spotted her. “Have you met my daughter, Mallorie?”

Daughter. Not girlfriend. Ariadne breathed a sight of relief.

Mallorie grasped Ariadne’s outstretched hand lightly, kissing both her cheeks. “Enchanté Ariadne, please call me Mal.” Mal was entirely French, and her voice was a lovely as her laugh.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mal,” Ariadne said shyly.

“Ariadne’s one of my new doctoral students, Mal,” Professor Miles said.

“Wonderful, you must be very talented, my father only works with the best,” Mal said in accented English. “I’ll leave you to your meeting. I’m sure I shall see you around, Ariadne.”

Ariadne stared after Mal, slightly stunned.

“Yes, she generally has that effect on people,” Professor Miles said dryly. “Shall we talk about your project then?”

 

* * *

 

The second time Ariadne saw her, she was sitting alone at a café, sketching the building across the street. Ariadne stood and stared for a moment before Mal turned around as if she sensed she was being watched. Her cross look disappeared when she saw Ariadne.

“Ah, Ariadne, come join me!”

“Oh, I was just, um, okay,” Ariadne stuttered. She sat down next to Mal and was greeted with cheek kisses again.

“What do you think?” Mal showed her the sketch. It was the building, but it was as if it had been transported to a fairy tale. It was the building covered in rose vines.

“Is that a dragon?”

Mal laughed, her delightful sparkling laugh. 

“But of course! Why should I only draw real things? I can create anything on paper, non?”

“It’s beautiful,” Ariadne breathed.

“For you, ma chère. You should have beautiful things.” Mal tore off the top sheet of her sketch pad and handed it to Ariadne.

“Thank you,” Ariadne said, smiling.

When she returned to her flat she framed the sketch and hung it in her bedroom. She smiled every time she saw it.

 

* * *

 

The third time Ariadne saw her, she was talking to a young man and wore a pained expression on her face. She looked like she was trying to extract her hand from his grasp. Ariadne walked up to her, not really sure what to do.

“Ariadne, ma chère,” Mal greeted her not with the traditional light cheek kisses, but with a much more intimate press to the lips before kissing her cheeks and embracing her. “Follow my lead,” she whispered against Ariadne’s ear. “Dom, c’est ma petite copine, Ariadne, Ariadne, c’est Dominic Cobb. He was also a student of mon père.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Ariadne extended her hand to shake Dom’s. “When did you defend?”

“Oh, um, I haven’t yet. My project is a bit... stalled.”

“Oh, okay,” Ariadne said, retrieving her hand and placing it into Mal’s.

“So, uh, you and Mal...”

“Yep. We met at the beginning of the semester. I have class with Professor Miles.” Ariadne gave him her best “fuck off and leave me alone” look. She’d been practicing it since she was 13 and had not returned the interest that boys had started showing in her.

“Uh, well, I have to go do some work, I’ll see you around, Mal,” Dom shoved his hands in his pockets and walked off.

“Merci, ma chère,” Mal said as soon as Dom had gone. “I’m so sorry ma petite. That man does not take no for an answer. I have told him I am not interested, but still he persists. I thought perhaps une amoureux might dissuade him.”

“Oh, um, no problem,” Ariadne awkwardly tried to tamp down the exultation she had felt when Mal kissed her. She wasn’t interested. She just wanted to get rid of that guy.

“How did you get rid of him so fast, chèrie?”

  
“Oh, I’ve had a decade of experience of getting rid of unwanted guys,” Ariadne attempted a nonchalant tone. “When all guys are unwanted, it’s easier to just glare them away.”

“Well you are brilliant, ma petite! I should keep you around to scare him off.” Mal gave Ariadne another dazzling smile. Ariadne tried to pretend like she wouldn’t do anything Mal wanted for another smile. 

“Of course, Mal, whatever you need.” Ariadne didn’t try very hard.

 

* * *

 

After that, when Ariadne saw Mal, she was often greeted with an embrace in addition to bisou. Whenever they saw Dom Cobb or one of his friends, Mal held tight to Ariadne’s hands. Ariadne was happy to play along. It was the things that happened when they _weren’t_ with other people that left Ariadne confused. More and more, Mal would greet her with several kisses and an embrace. She brought her espresso (which Ariadne was starting to actually like, not just appreciate for its caffeine content) and pastries. Mal seemed to seek her out, rather than running into her when visiting her father.

“Ma petite, would you like to come out dancing with us?” Mal asked one evening after Ariadne got out of class.

“Who is us?” Ariadne asked, automatically accepting the small cup of espresso Mal placed in her hand.

“Just a few of your fellow students.”

“Will Dom be there?” Ariadne asked.

Mal made a face, “Probably, but Arthur really wants to go out tonight. Apparently he needs to blow off some steam.”

Ariadne put her arm around Mal, “of course I’ll come with you then.” Mal was her friend. Her best friend. Of course she would help protect Mal from Cobb the Knob (as her friend Eames had started calling him).

 

* * *

 

At the club, Arthur brought a round of shots over to everyone. Dom was indeed there, because apparently the reason Arthur need to blow off steam was that Eames had been tormenting him again. Arthur was working with Professor Miles, Dom, Eames, and Mal on some sort of advanced project, even though he wasn’t actually an architect. Eames didn’t seem to be an architect either, although he was definitely an artist. He was also hopelessly crushing on Arthur. Ariadne and Eames had bonded over their dislike for “Cobb the Knob,” who was apparently friends with Arthur, and the reason Arthur was even in Paris right now working on the project. Mal had adopted Arthur immediately, which is why she kept having to deal with Dom on a regular basis.

Arthur clubbing bore little resemblance to Arthur working. His hair was loose from its gel, he was wearing a tight black shirt and even tighter black trousers, and he never seemed to stop moving to the thumping bass line. He passed out the shots, tipped his back, and then said “Fuck Eames! I have plenty of imagination!” He pulled Dom out on the dance floor, leaving Ariadne and Mal standing to the side, holding their shots, and laughing as Dom awkwardly moved to the pounding music.

“I don’t know why they don’t just fuck and get it out of their systems,” Ariadne said to Mal raising her voice to be heard over the music.

“Arthur and Dom? Dom is not even the tiniest bit gay. Look how he dances, ma petite.”

“No, Arthur and Eames!” Ariadne practically shouted, her volume control disappearing the more she drank. Perhaps multiple shots of liquor after a week of very little sleep had not been the brightest decision.

“Ah, ma chère, they will have to figure that out on their own time. Arthur does not like being teased, and that seems to be the only thing Eames does to him.”

Ariadne looked over at Arthur and Dom again, and saw that Arthur had started grinding against a shirtless man covered in tattoos, which had allowed Dom to start heading back to where Mal and Ariadne were standing.

“C’mon, let’s dance,” Ariadne finished her shot, set it down and grabbed Mal’s hand dragging her out onto the dance floor. Ariadne allowed the music and the alcohol sweep over her and just danced, ignoring the anxiety and inhibitions that normally kept her second-guessing everything. Mal ran her hands over Ariadne’s sides, dancing in tandem with Ari, but only barely touching. Ariadne's skin tingled with anticipation.

“You’re so lovely, ma petite,” Mal said, moving her hands to Ariadne’s hips and pulling her close, bending down to whisper in her ear. Shocked at her own daring, Ariadne began to grind against Mal, sliding up and down her body. As Mal danced back against her, Ariadne began to press kisses into the crook of Mal’s neck. “Oh god, Mal,” Ariadne moaned against Mal’s skin. She felt Mal’s hand move from her hip and grasp her chin, tipping her face up for a kiss. This was not an ambiguous kiss. Mal’s tongue pushed against Ariadne’s lips, seeking entrance. Ari gasped slightly, allowing Mal to lick into her mouth, tangling their tongues together. Ariadne pulled back slightly, somewhat drunk and very confused.

“Are we dating?”

“Do you want to be, ma belle?”

“Yes, of course, so much. But you don’t. Do you? Date girls?” Ariadne stumbled over her words.

“I would very much like to date you, ma petite.”

“I don’t understand, I thought I was just keeping Dom away from you.” Ariadne shook her head, trying to clear it. “I think I’m too drunk for this conversation.”

“Then we shall have it in the morning. Let us put you to bed.” Mal lightly kissed Ariadne’s nose.

* * *

 

Ariadne woke up with a pounding headache, still in her clothes, but in her own bed. There was a glass of water, two ibuprofen, and a small cup of espresso on her bedside table.

Mal walked back into her room, holding a plate with toast. “Ah you’re awake ma chère,” she said brightly.

“I think I’m dying,” Ariadne moaned slightly.

“Non, you are not allowed to die, ma petite chou. Not when I have only gotten to kiss you once.” Mal said, firmly.

“You kiss me every time you see me,” Ariadne said, confused.

“Not bisou, chouette, embrasser,” Mal sat on the edge of the bed, cupped her hand around Ariadne’s cheek, and gently kissed her lips, darting her tongue between her lips.

“Embrasser,” Ariadne repeated, still slightly dazed. “I like that. When did we start doing that?”

“Do you remember last night?” Mal asked, carefully, as if she were afraid Ariadne was going to spook.

“We went out dancing with Arthur, because he needed to work off his sexual frustration with Eames. We had shots. Apparently a lot of shots. And we danced...” Ariadne trailed off, her face blushing red. “You called me lovely. You said you wanted to date me. You kissed me.”

“You are lovely, ma petite. I do want to date you. And I would like to continues kissing you.”

“But why?” Ariadne said, puzzled. 

“Why did you keep my drawing?” Mal responded, pointing at the framed sketch on Ariadne’s wall.

“It’s beautiful. And you gave it to me. You said I deserved beautiful things,” Ariadne responded slowly, remembering their conversation.

“Perhaps I would like to be one of those beautiful things,” Mal said, almost shyly, as if she expected to be rejected.

“Oh Mal,” Ariadne said, gently stroking the side of Mal’s face before kissing her softly. “Je t’adore, ma belle,” she said, “Yes, of course, yes.”

* * *

 

Ariadne stopped counting the times she saw Mal, who had become nearly omnipresent in her life. Now she saw her not just after class, but every morning when she woke up, every evening over dinner, and every night before she went to sleep. Eventually, Mal was even in her dreams.


End file.
